Lefèvre Raoul (active 1460) trans William Caxton (1422 1491)

Sale 2543 - Lot 266

Unsold

Estimate: $ 6,000 - $ 8,000

Lefèvre, Raoul (active 1460) trans. William Caxton (1422-1491) The Avncient Historie, of the Destruction of Troy. Quarto, incomplete, lacking fifty-two leaves, consisting of two preliminaries (title present), twenty-eight text leaves, and the last three signatures (save two leaves); contents stained, dog-eared, and with other defects; bound in contemporary or near-contemporary sheepskin over boards, binding heavily worn, spine reflexed, 7 1/4 x 5 1/8 in. London: Printed by Thomas Creede [and Valentine Simmes], 1596 [i.e. 1597].

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Additional Details

This work is very rare at auction. The English translation of Lefèvre's Recueil des Histoires de Troye translated and printed by Caxton, was the first book ever published in the English language. Also one of Shakespeare's sources for Troilus and Cressida, only four editions were published in the 16th century, and one in the 15th century. STC 15379; ESTC S106754; two copies listed worldwide: Bodleian & Folger, both defective.